Live Review: King Gizzard - Troxy, London 23/03/2023
Within two nights of technicolour chaos, the mighty King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have made their grand return to London.
With last night’s mammoth Alexandra Palace show safely under their belt, tonight’s more intimate outing to East London’s Troxy was always going to be an entirely different spectacle in itself. Housed in the 89-year-old theatre’s art-deco stylings, the setting was already a visual feast, and with a band like King Gizzard taking over the place the experience turns to one of mind-altering psychedelia.
Support tonight came from London band Los Bitchos, who are experts in putting on a largely instrumental, Latin-influenced party. Without much verbally to say, the funky jams speak for themselves, rhythmically freeflowing and irresistibly danceable. Wherever Los Bitchos are you know you’re in for a fun night.
The international influences blend perfectly into King Gizzard’s own sound, with their repertoire now spanning 24 albums, their experimentation has taken them through metal, jazz, psych, funk dimensions and around the world as a band who are constantly changing, and yet they have built such a broad and fiercely dedicated following for everything they do. Before they take to the stage a message is projected out to ask that “the mosh pit is a safe place for young, old, big, small and ppl of all genders… Look after each other in there and BE YOURSELF”, and this ethos is another reason why so many love King Gizz.
So from the first crunching chords and kaleidoscopic visuals we’re in a good place, it’s like being transported to the Aussie beaches where these boys are from, under the beating sun and life is great. As a band who’ve long been making a name for their extensive releasing schedule, 2022 saw them add another five studio albums to their discography within 12 months. There’s no doubt that they are a creative powerhouse, constantly touring, writing, and recording, and when that wealth of material gets brought to life it results in a marathon of a spectacle. Every King Gizzard show is different, shifting through their back-catalogue the setlist tonight doesn’t aim to show off their most recent work, but seems to be channelled by the genres they feel like playing with. Opening with the heavier, metal sounds of 2019 Infest The Rats Nest closer “Hell”, it allows them to transition easily into a 2022 track, “Predator X”, with their roaring similarities. Later, the swirling fantasy of the more recent “Magenta Mountain” reverts back into 2020 tracks “Straws In the Wind” and “K.G.L.W.” in such a way as to lead you along a path of adventure. Like a game of Dungeons and Dragons on acid, each roll of the dice turns a corner into an unknown land, but one that lets the imagination run wild.
The way they work as a band is fascinating, often swapping instruments and roles, forever morphing like their music. And they make it look completely instinctive. To be able to play a different setlist each night, of over two hours of faultless jamming shows how well they know each other, and the music, inside and out. They just have to look at one another and they know where they’re taking us next.
The latter part of the set descends into more of a surreal fusion between prog rock and jazz, with songs like “Ice V” and “Lava” off the incredibly named Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava. Entirely unpredictably, the 90s hip-hop rap style of “Sadie Sorceress” makes an appearance, before the ultimate chaotic breakdown of 2014s “Am I in Heaven” gets mashed up with everything else that they want to throw in there before they’re done. It’s a face-melting, career-spanning set that shows just a fraction of what King Gizzard can do.
With not a single dull moment in the night you can see why the fans keep coming back for more, and with such a wealth of material to take in, the King Gizz community are bound by the endless sense of wonder and exploration that this band brings with their music. And they’re not slowing down any time soon.
Words by Alice Jenner
Photography by Dave Curtis
